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Tags: absorption, benefits, dha, epa, fish, fish oil, nutrients, omega-3, potency
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Great article as per usual!
I would also add that any fat soluble supplement (fish oils, vitamin e, etc) should not be taken with fiber. A wild speculation, but perhaps one possible reason for the lower absorption in the supplement takers, is that they were also supplementing with fiber.
Also, there is a least one study suggesting that supplementing via capsule form, is not as effective as supplementing via liquid:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100406133522.htm
Finally, wouldn’t the presumed lack of mercury /pcb in the distilled supplements be another consideration when choosing? I recommend brands that has been independently certified by IFOS for purity:
http://www.ifosprogram.com/IFOS/ConsumerReport.aspx
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This is a good series for readers needing the latest information on Omega 3. One study I read shows cod liver oil isn’t recommended because vitamin A interferes with the absorption of the vitamin D.
I hope your next post in the series mentions Krill oil. Some nutrionists consider it superior to other fish oil. I can use Krill oil but other fish oil supplements give me nausea, even taken after a meal.
I’m not fond of fish, so I try to eat it once a week and also take the Krill oil daily.
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Hi Chris, excellent blog & articles. I currentlyordered Green Pastures Fermented Cod Liver Oil. Have you heard of this product? If so, what is your opinion the quality of this product?
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Thank you so much for your informative articles! with all the confusion out there you are doing an exellent job to get to the heart of the matter and sort it all out for us.
I would like to know your opinion on fish roe, is it better than fish? If yes witch particular fish roe are the best? Thanks in advance.
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Hi Chris,
That’s another excellent article! Especially the discussion about absorption was an eye opener.
This is about some additional aspects that I’ve been thinking about:
Some practitioners (e.g., Poliquin and Robb Wolf) recommend a very high intake (such as 0.5 – 1g /EPA, DHA per 10 pounds of body-weight/day) initially in a person transitioning from SAD to an ancestral diet.
As far as I understand things (I may have got it wrong here and I don’t want to put words in other peoples’ mouths) the rationale has to do with counteracting the inflammatory effects of “legacy” omega 6 present throughout the body, especially if the person is losing weight. (There is also a spectrum of issues related to the metabolic syndrome that fish oil remedies.)
The practice doesn’t seem to have a large basis in formal scientific studies, but is rather an idea that has been derived from successful clinical applications. People in the transitional stages are generally reported to do very well on higher amounts of fish oil and without any negative side effects. (Though I suspect that in some people high doses aren’t that well tolerated because of gut issues.)
Poliquin has also mentioned fish oil supplementation as a therapeutic tool that helps kick start a person’s gradual behavioral change into better eating patterns. Fish oil, as it is providing essential brain nutrients, rapidly impacts patients’ mood in a positive manner and thus makes it psychologically easier for them to move forward with further changes in a positive direction. (This vs. immediately prescribing an over-night changes in diet).
Perhaps you have any comments on these aspects of fish oil supplementation.
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Hi Chris,
Just wanted to thank you for the feedback on my question.
Also the fish oil guide is excellent, as is the recent post about why we should eat fish.
It’s hard to keep up with you! You are so incredibly productive.
/CW
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Great post and excellent blog from what I’ve read so far Chris.
Just wanted to add that the whole ‘dosage by consensus’ or from ‘anecdotal experience’ with regard to fish oil in new trainees has problems. We have to remember that most of these people coming from a sedentary, SAD-eating lifestyle into a healthier diet and smart training (which they can definitely get from people like Poliquin, Wolf, and others) are going to see rapid improvements and likely lots of weight loss and reduction in inflammation from their new changes. It is tempting to attribute this success to the supplements they take while doing this. But it may be true that they see improvement in SPITE of taking high dose fish oil, not BECAUSE of it. There are so many confounding factors that can contribute to their good results that it seems impossible to attribute the success to fish oil or any other supp.
Until we see a solid body of well-designed, peer-reviewed randomized clinical trials looking at high fish oil dosage and some health markers, I prefer to remain skeptical and err on the side of caution- keeping supplement dosages low-to-moderate (no more than 3g of high quality EPA/DHA per day) and emphasizing food sources for these important oils along with elimination of excess N-6 intake.
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